近日，英国剑桥大学David P. Edwards团队揭示了在撒哈拉以南非洲，采矿引发了大面积的森林砍伐。该项研究成果发表在2026年6月3日出版的《自然》杂志上。

对撒哈拉以南非洲矿产的需求正在迅速增长。如果管理不善，采矿扩张将对非洲大陆的热带森林构成关键威胁。

研究组利用非洲大陆范围的森林砍伐后土地利用数据，并采用稳健的双重差分框架，对2001年至2020年间的16,627个矿区进行了时空评估，量化了采矿活动驱动的密林砍伐程度。研究组共计发现直接由采矿驱动的森林砍伐达18.7万公顷，即由矿坑、尾矿池和废石堆等与采矿作业直接相关的特征所导致的森林消失。据估算，与未采矿区相比，采矿还导致矿区1公里范围内森林砍伐率额外增加8.0个百分点（95%置信区间：7.2–8.9个百分点）。

在矿区20公里范围内，甚至在开采十年后，森林砍伐水平仍持续高于未采区（增加1.1个百分点，95%置信区间：0.7–1.5个百分点）。对于矿区直接破坏的每一公顷森林，采矿活动平均会在五年内通过农业和居民点等辅助活动，额外导致34公顷的异地森林损失。提取钴和铜（关键的能源转型矿物）的矿山造成了最大量的额外森林砍伐。将异地森林砍伐水平纳入新采矿项目的环境影响评估中，将是确保关键矿物供应链实现零毁林或无净损失、并减少未来撒哈拉以南非洲采矿驱动森林损失的关键。

附：英文原文

Title: Mining triggers extensive additional deforestation in sub-Saharan Africa

Author: Morton, Oscar, Bousfield, Christopher G., Dgny Val, Prince, Lamb, Ieuan, Maus, Victor, Bryant, Robert G., Edwards, David P.

Issue&Volume: 2026-06-03

Abstract: Demand for minerals sourced from sub-Saharan Africa is expanding rapidly1,2,3,4,5. If poorly managed, mining expansion poses a key threat to tropical forests across the continent6,7. Here we present a spatiotemporal assessment of mining-driven deforestation of dense forests across Africa, using continent-wide data on post-deforestation land uses and a robust difference-in-differences framework to assess 16,627 mines between 2001 and 2020. In total, we find 187,000 hectares of direct mining-driven deforestation, that is, deforestation due to features directly associated with mining operations, such as pits, tailing ponds and spoil heaps. We estimate that mining also triggers an additional 8.0 percentage points (pp; 95% confidence interval (CI): 7.2–8.9pp) increase in deforestation within 1km of a mine compared with unmined areas. Increased levels of deforestation (1.1pp, 95% CI: 0.7–1.5) persist up to 20km from mines even after ten years. For every hectare of direct deforestation due to the mine footprint, mining triggers, on average, 34 hectares of additional offsite loss within five years through ancillary activities, including agriculture and settlements. Mines extracting cobalt and copper—key energy transition minerals—caused the highest amount of additional deforestation. Embedding offsite deforestation levels into environmental impact assessments for new mining projects will be key to ensuring zero-deforestation or no-net-loss supply chains for critical minerals and reduce future mining-driven forest losses in sub-Saharan Africa.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10551-2

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10551-2